The Red Maiden, Part Eight
The Red Maiden
Content Warning: Bullying, War, Trauma/PTSD, Emotional/Physical Abuse, Self-Harm, Violent Content, Depression. Reader discretion is advised
Disclaimer: This is a work of Fanfiction, as none of the content is my original work. The characters are created by Stephen King and J.R.R Tolkien. The content belongs to MGM and Screen Gems, as the 2013 film remake of Carrie was directed by Kimberly Pierce and produced by Kevin Misher, and additional production is through MGM, Screen Gems, and Misher films as well as distributed by Sony Pictures releasing.
In the nick of time
It became at least an hour worth of waiting before Carrie knew something was wrong. She once again mentally kicked herself, this time for not following after Thorin. With each minute that passed she knew she doomed every one of the dwarves in the hands of fate. She could never live with herself if she waited any longer for Thorin to return, so she carefully left her spot near a now dying fire to find both Thorin and Bilbo.
The more further she walked the less she could see. There was no one in sight. Suddenly, she heard tiny cries of pain and realized she was getting closer to what appeared to be a bonfire. Carrie could feel her knees start to buckle with terror as booming sounds of chuckles sounded. Obviously coming from something large. She ducked and peeked through the bushes to confirm her nightmarish theory, blinking a few times. What she was seeing that was straight out of fiction: trolls. Trolls laughing as they turned a large piece of wood bearing a few tied-up dwarves while the rest, including Bilbo, were in large cloth sacks. Seeing Bilbo frightened out of his mind was what made Carrie gather enough courage to get them out of this mess.
“Don’t worry, Bilbo, I’m going to get you free. I swear on mama’s grave,” she thought as she began to consider going in guns blazing and using her telekinesis to make each troll explode. But that would have to take immense energy that would be too much even for a great telekinetic such as herself. Against her wishes, she stayed put for what felt like minutes wasted trying to figure out how best to save them. That is until one of the trolls grumbled about hurrying and not be fancied to turn into stone by dawn.
It was an aha moment that she saw Bilbo start to get an idea, springing to his feet as best as possible in the confined sack while yelling to catch their attention. Once the trolls looked upon Bilbo he cried out, “You are making a terrible mistake!” It made each of the Dwarves cry in protest at Bilbo’s insane idea saying it was pointless and that the trolls were half-wits. It would have made Carrie giggle if this was not a dire and critical situation. Which gave her a brilliant idea: she could scare the trolls in hopes of letting the dwarves know help was coming. She lifted her hand a bit while sneaking around the bushes, making the leaves rustle as if brought by a large gust of wind.
The trolls snapped their heads towards what they thought was the sound’s source, but Carrie would not make it that easy for them. She continued with her trick, smirking in amusement. “Guess they really are that stupid,” she thought as she allowed her hand to make several tiny bits of dirt, grass, and rocks float as if brought on by the conjured gust of wind making each of the trolls turn pale. Carrie’s smirk grew as one of the trolls squealed as she made the built-up cyclone roll from underneath it.
“What in blazes is going on! Are we done for Bert?” the troll screeched out as the one named Bert shook his head in a loss for words. Carrie continued with her little telekinetic show until she made everything stop in a harsh halt. The bits of dirt, grass, and tiny rocks begin to fall to the ground. The falling objects sent up a large cloud of dust, surrounding everyone. Carrie noticed a boulder close by and made her way to it hastily. It left Bilbo hiding the amusement in his eyes until one of the trolls glared at him.
“Is there more of ya? Is there someone else here little ferret,” the troll snarled out as Bilbo blinked at the insult before shaking his head. The other trolls started to pester Bilbo about if anyone else was there. At one point grabbing Bombur and dangling him over one troll’s mouth in a teasing fashion. Carrie knew she now had to reveal herself or her attempt at saving them would be a loss. The troll started to lick his lips as he made a remark about how he could eat a dwarf whole, when Carrie raised her hand using her telekinetic force to smack Bombur out of his hand, causing the troll to gasp at the sudden loss of grip.
“What now…” Bert started to say until Carrie used her power to send dirt flying into his eyes, making him cry out in pain. She did the same to the other trolls feeling rage starting to bubble up inside her. However, it was not the type of rage she felt when she was humiliated by her entire classmates. It was as if she was ready to protect the company from anything that befell them, regardless of whether or not they accepted her. Her pupils began to dilate as this boiling rage inside built up. She used her telekinesis to make a rock hit one of the trolls to get their attention.
After a sharp “ow” the trolls began to look toward Carrie on top of the boulder with red eyes, their focus clearing before their expressions turned to confusion. “Who’s that? Can we eat her too?” one of them asked making Carrie give a malicious chuckle toward the trolls. She lifted her foot, stomping with enough force to allow the sunlight to shine upon them. She gave a satisfied smirk while the trolls cried out in pain their skin becoming hard and coarse as that of rock. Once they became stone and were frozen in place, the area was filled with silence brought on by pure shock and disbelief at what just happened. The silence became deafening until each of the dwarves began to cheer for her.
“The lass truly has strength indeed! I knew it all along!” Carrie heard Gloin cry out as she smiled, exhaustion starting to come upon her until she felt a hand steadying her in place. She snapped her head up to see Gandalf smiling in pride at what she accomplished. Gandalf made sure to keep Carrie steadied as they started to climb down the boulder as the cheers continued. She started to feel a sense of relief as well that no one was injured while she and Gandalf helped everyone out of the sacks. It was as if she felt connected with every one of the Dwarves, even if she had risked much of her power to save them.
By the time Carrie helped Thorin out as he was still in pure shock over what happened standing there in front of her. “I thought I told you to stay put,” Thorin said with a frown and a serious tone leaving Carrie’s smile fading. Was this the thanks Carrie got for saving Thorin from doom? A harsh scolding after all of her efforts to receive this treatment? Carrie was speechless for a moment, her smile no longer there as Thorin started to walk away leaving behind a stunned and hurt look in her eyes. It was as if everything leading up to this point left her deflated and back to square one with him.
Before she could consider if she did anything wrong, a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder and she saw Bilbo with a smile and a grateful look in his eyes, glad to see Carrie. Carrie snatched Bilbo in a hug leaving him speechless and holding him as tightly as possible. She didn’t want to let go. “Bilbo? Can you promise me one thing?” Carrie asked in a gentle tone as she pulled away to face him and looked into his eyes. “Try not to get yourself into trouble next time,” she added with a soft smile and Bilbo nodded with a look indicating he wished to say something. Before he could, though, Gandalf called everyone to follow him. Carrie took a mental side note to ask about it later as she followed the sound of Gandalf’s voice.
Though Carrie followed Gandalf as far as she could before a powerful stench of death and feces hit her hard as they came close to a cave. Due to the powerful stench making her extremely nauseous, she decided to stay beside Bilbo outside what Gandalf described as a troll hoard. Minutes passed with a few gagging sessions from the stench until the dwarves came out one by one with weapons while Gandalf came out to give Bilbo one. She became lost in her thoughts until Gandalf caught her attention. As she turned around a small sword was being placed in her hands. The silver blade shimmered in the light, and the tip had a tiny curve that ended in a sharp point.
“This blade is of elvish make, which means it will glow blue when orcs and goblins are nearby,” Gandalf explained with a smile until he noticed a distraught look on Carrie’s face as she stared, silent. Carrie tried to pass the blade back to Gandalf in silent rejection, a fearful look in her eyes. Her efforts ended in vain as the blade was placed back into her hands as a small smile was on Gandalf’s face once more. “You have proven yourself worthy by far in this company, Miss White, no one will deny what you have done for them. Not even Thorin himself,” Gandalf said with a reassuring tone as Carrie could not help but give a small smile at his words.
“However, this journey is far from over for any of us. I fear it may test us to our very limits. And should you ever need this very blade, remember this, Miss White: true strength is not in what powers or skills one may possess. It is within our own strength that shines a light in the darkest of times. That itself is true power. That which comes from within that no one can take from you,” Gandalf said keeping the smile on his face. Suddenly, Thorin yelled out that someone was coming and Gandalf turned away from Carrie to rally everyone together.
Carrie had a few split seconds to tense up and prepare to fight before a brown cloaked old man burst forth from the bushes in a sled pulled by large rabbits. “Thieves, fire, murder!” the old man yelled with a crazed, fearful look in his eyes. It was not until Gandalf recognized him as Radagast that Carrie began to relax seeing he was not a threat. It left her now to wonder about this stranger that showed up out of nowhere and what horrors he saw that would make him run toward Gandalf. It did not take a rocket scientist to guess this quest would hold more horrors than simple trolls in Carrie’s journey.
**If you or someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, has experienced severe depression, or has experienced a PTSD episode call the national suicide prevention lifeline (1-800-273-8255), text CONNECT or HOME to the crisis text line at 741741, or call 911**
